North Korea has warned the US of its "own way of counteraction" if a maritime blockade and more sanctions are imposed, as threatened by US President Donald Trump on February 23.

US President Donald Trump announced the "heaviest" set of US sanctions against North Korea on Friday as his administration redoubled its efforts to starve Pyongyang of resources and force the isolated regime to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that the US would impose more sanctions on North Kore

The UN Security Council approved these sanctions following the North Korean army's sixth and strongest nuclear test on September 3, which Pyongyang said was a hydrogen bomb.

Pyongyang will take measures to retaliate against new UN Security Council sanctions to plunge the US into the "most difficult situation" in its history, North Korea ambassador to Russia

Pyongyang will take measures to retaliate against new UN Security Council sanctions to plunge the US into the "most difficult situation" in its history, North Korea ambassador to Russia

China supports the UN Security Council's "necessary measures" to resolve tension in the Korean Peninsula after Pyongyang conducted nuclear tests, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said on Tuesday.

The Security Council was poised on Monday to vote on weakened sanctions to punish North Korea for its nuclear and missile programmes after a week of negotiations that pitted the US against China and Russia.

Russia warned on Tuesday that new sanctions and the use of force against North Korea's regime would be a path to catastrophe, after Pyongyang launched a missile that flew over Japanese territory before landing in the Pacific Ocean.

The US Treasury Department on Tuesday said it was imposing economic sanctions on more than a dozen Chinese and Russian individuals and firms for doing business with North Korea's government.